Flying termites swarming in south St. Louis

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO (KTVI) – Some St. Louis residents are seeing swarming insects showing up in alarming numbers. Termites are taking flight.

Thousands of bugs are swarming unsuspecting south county residents. That’s what’s been happening to some people who live not far from Suson Park off Tesson Ferry. The tiny winged bugs are termites and this week’s warmer temperatures are bringing them out to join your garden party.

We spoke with the experts at Rottler Pest Control who have been fielding phone calls all week, at least 225 calls. Most say the same thing, they’ve seen swarms of tiny winged insects. It seems love is in the air.

These are nuptial flights, males and females pair up then land and look for a suitable place for a colony. They can do damage to the wood around your foundation if you don’t keep an eye out for them.

Those termites are treatable either with stuff you could find at your local hardware store or by calling pest experts like Rottler. The problem is that they’ll work their way up near the base of your foundation and you might not see the damage for a few years.